The Last Chapter
by magicdawn
Summary: Lily and James return to Hogwarts for their seventh year. They've both changed in different ways for different reasons, and this story is of them coming together in a time of war and fear. Canon Marauders' Era with some OCs. Warning, this story deals with racism/hate crimes and there are blood mentions and some violence.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello there! So, I'm rewriting the few chapters of TLC that I've already posted - I'm sorry to those that have already read and enjoyed them, but they weren't what I wanted them to be, and I hope you like these just as much!

Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and all of its elements that I've borrowed and possibly desecrated (that last bit is a matter of opinion, I suppose)

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_Self Actualization Part I_

Lily Evans had spent a good deal of the summer before her seventh year thinking about herself.

Of course, not in a vain or narcissistic way. More in a self-actualizing-that-will-result-in-positive-change-for-her-and-those-around-her way. Lily Evans wasn't very high on herself, and she tried very hard to seem that way to everyone else.

Her personal reflections were centred around realizing how she viewed the world, and how it affected how she interacted with those around her. What she had noticed was that she lived as though she were the main character in one of the books she loved so much, which wasn't a very good way to live as she most definitely _wasn't _in a book.

That summer she forced herself into stark reality - that people were never going to fall into predictably romantic dialogue patterns, that she wouldn't always have a smart reply and deliver it without hesitation or stuttering, and most importantly, there was no handsome man that was secretly in love with her and was going to sweep her off her feet in some dramatic public display of romance before she would graduate and leave Hogwarts forever.

She assumed that these misconceptions were not only due to the fact that she had been raised on a healthy dose of literature, but also to her finding out she was a witch all those years ago (or, just that witches and wizards even existed). Magic was, up till that point, the stuff of fairytales, and so if that crazy second world existed, why couldn't the rest of the fairytale?

But that summer, she planned on going back to Hogwarts a little less expectant, and just enjoy her last year without putting all her energy into willing her own Mr Darcy into existence. The world would not play by her rules, and she spent the summer months embossing those words onto her mind.

She had thought about confiding in her friends regarding these thoughts, but always decided against it. Annalise would shake her head, Mary would say that it wasn't possible for Lily to turn her back on her nature, and Alice would say something comfortingly sweet about how it was nice that Lily had a good grasp of who she was and that she should do anything to make herself happy. It's not that Lily didn't want to hear these answers, but more like she decided that she wanted it to be her own, secret personal mission.

She would be successful, for a short time. But Lily Evans couldn't not live in hope and beauty, and despite herself, she would (happily) slip back into her optimism.

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A/N: I hope you agree with me that that was better! It's gonna draw more parallels between her and James, and I just think it is much better written than my first try...

Please review and tell me what you think! Brownies may or may not be a possible reward.

~magicdawn


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Second chapter rewrite! Posting the two of them at the same time, and I hope this is also an improvement!

Disclaimer: The entire universe and Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling

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_Self Actualization Part II_

James Potter had spent a good deal of the summer before his seventh year thinking about himself.

Of course, not in a vain or narcissistic way. More in a self-actualizing-that-will-result-in-positive-change-for-him-and-those-around-him way. James Potter was only a little high on himself, though he tried very hard to make others think that he was.

He had realized, in the two months between his sixth and seventh year at school, that he was something of jerk.

Of course, people (well, mostly one person in particular) had always told him this. And of course, _he _had always known this. He just hadn't had the time to properly think since he had first decided, when he was 16, that he'd like to be less of one. With the house one father short, and the wound still so fresh in his heart, the house had been really quiet, even _with _Sirius Black living there. James had had a lot more time to think than he ever used to, and his dad's death had forced him to take a look at his own life, and how he was living it.

That was when he concluded that he had been a jerk. He had been arrogant, pompous, and in years four and five in particular, he had been a downright bully. Snape aside, he had hexed and teased innocent students just because they were younger than him or they stood in his way. And Lily Evans, Merlin, how he had buggered her.

His affection for her had always been true. The problem was, when he realized how much he liked her, he had fallen too far down his hole of self-entitlement and animosity with her to be sincere. He asked her out, at least once every week when they were 15, and every time she had just grown more wary and hated him more and more. They had had some terrible arguments, ones ending in trips to the Hospital Wing and with bets on who would draw their wand first among their unavoidable audience. By his sixth year, he decided it was high time to stop putting down others, and time to start pulling himself up out of that dark abyss. He started to leave Lily alone, even though he was still enamoured, knowing that he had destroyed all his chances and that it was time to move on. He started helping others, instead of hanging them from their feet. He still was dedicated to having fun and doing things that weren't exactly per the rules with the Marauders, but he made sure that no one was hurt during the process. Of course, he was still as hard as he had to be as captain on the Quidditch pitch, and he was ever the smart ass, but he thought he had made good progress.

Then his father died, and his mind became a blur. His thoughts were muddled and hazy, and the week he spent at home before and after the funeral were a mess of tears and anger, and left a few fist-shaped holes in their walls. He went back to school cool and reserved, not bothering anybody because he barely interacted with them, and then the summer came, and he found himself thinking about the majority of the year, and how much less of a jerk he had become.

He planned then that he would return to that state of diminished jerkosity, and that he would finally get over Lily Evans.

He would be successful in remaining a better person than his younger self, but he absolutely would not get over Lily Evans.

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A/N: Yeah. That feels better. Less scattered.

Please review and tell me what you think! Much appreciated

~magicdawn


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Another rewrite! Once again much happier with it... Hope y'all are too!

Disclaimer: Everything 'Potter belongs to good ol' J.K. Rowling.

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_And So They Return_

Lily Evans was sitting in her father's car. The sun was out, and was shining in her eyes through the windshield. She averted her eyes to her fingers instead, which she had painted in her house colours of red and gold, in celebration of her impending return to Hogwarts. She was excited, but also incredibly nervous, knowing that when she returned she would be laden with new responsibilities and expectations to meet.

She shook her head, determined that she would leave her worrying for once she actually got to school. Until then, she was going to enjoy the drive to King's Cross in her father's company.

The door to the driver's seat opened, and Tobias Evans got in. He put the key in the ignition, but didn't turn it, instead looking to his daughter.

"I'm going to miss you, you know." He said.

"You better." She replied, and he rolled his eyes.

"Your sister misses you too, you know." Lily's smile fell from, her face, her lips forming a hard, displeased line. Did they have to have this discussion again?

"She should have thought of that before she insulted me and my whole world." Lily replied, looking away from her father and out the window, ignoring the extreme discomfort of the bright day.

"It's not your _whole_ world." He said quietly.

"Dad…"

"I'm just saying, the two of us are all you have left of your normal-" Lily glared at him, "-uh, non-magic life. You don't talk to anyone in the neighbourhood, not even Severus anymore. Doesn't that make it worth preserving your relations with Petunia?"

"No. I can't be amicable with someone that thinks that I go against nature itself. She's downright _cruel_ the way she speaks about me and magic, and it's just not fair of you to ask me to be friends with her."

"She's your sister." He tried one last time.

"She doesn't think so." Lily replied. It was true - Petunia had verbally disowned Lily the last time they spoke.

Mr Evans sighed, and turned the key. The car's engine roared as it came to life, and he pulled out of the driveway of their modest muggle home.

At King's Cross, Mr Evans heaved Lily's trunk (of which she had magically expanded the interior, taking advantage of her now always-legal powers) and found a cart. They walked to the stone pillar between platforms 9 and 10, Lily pointing out magical peers among the muggle crowd to her father, who shook his head in awe, as they did every year. When she reached the barrier, she hugged her dad tightly, a few tears slipping from her eyes and darkening the fabric of his shirt.

"Goodbye, Daddy."

"Bye, flower. I love you so much." He hugged her tightly back, and kissed the top of her hair, before letting go.

"I love you too." She wiped her eyes on the sleeves of her uniform. She had put on her school clothes at home, so she wouldn't have to bother with changing on the train.

"Your mum would be really proud, you know." He pointed to the glistening silver badge pinned on her chest, just above the Gryffindor patch over her heart.

"I know." She smiled, putting a hand on the cart's handle.

"Be safe. Write to me often." He held out his pinky, which she linked with her own.

"Definitely."

She turned her back to her father, looking around her to make sure there were no muggles watching, before running towards the stone pillar, as it enveloped her and spit her out the other side, to her other world.

There were crying parents and waving students with hooting owls and cats running through legs. The ceiling was clouded over from the steam of the locomotive, and the carriages were filling quickly. Lily and her friends had agreed to meet in the fifth carriage, and so Lily counted the cars, until she found number five. She climbed in, trying not to push anyone, and getting stopped frequently for greetings and congratulations from her peers. She looked into every compartment she passed, until she found one with three familiar faces.

"Brace yourselves, my fellow travellers. We are now graced with the presence of her Honourable Head Girl." Mary announced dramatically, as Lily joined them. Her, Annalise and Alice all jumped up to hug the newcomer, squealing excitedly.

"It's so great to see you!" Alice exclaimed. Alice was almost as short as Lily, with medium length brown hair, and the most sincere eyes the deepest shade of brown."You too! All of you - you all look so good." Lily enthused, sitting down next to Annalise, with her long blonde locks curling over her shoulders and down her back.

"How excited are you for this year?" She said, and Lily bit her lip, unsure.

"I am excited, of course, but also… Worried." She admitted.

"We _are_ graduating." Alice nodded in agreement.

"You're just worried about all the important and top secret Head Girl work you're gonna have to do." Mary said to Lily.

Lily nodded, and Mary smiled triumphantly. Mary was half Chinese, half British, and she had retained her mother's glossy black hair, which she styled at the moment into a short, sharp bob. Mary's hair changed almost as often as the sun rose.

"You guys didn't happen to find out who got Head Boy, do you?" Lily asked the question that had been bugging her all summer. She had asked them all already, of course, via their frequent letters, but she hoped that maybe they had overheard something on the train that she hadn't.

"No. But it's probably Remus, right?" Annalise suggested.

"That's what I'm hoping." Lily said, fingers crossed. She was good friends with Remus Lupin, and knew him very well. He was smart and considerate, and Lily knew that all her worrying would be unnecessary with Remus by her side.

"Could be Takyl Pennsworth." Alice suggested. "He _is_ one of the top Ravenclaws."

"No, you don't think it could be him?" Lily said, her cheeks tinged with red. She hated how easily she blushed - there were no secrets with her as long as you could see her face.

"You _so _like him, Lily, don't even try to deny it." Mary said. "Guys, what if she ends up sharing a private dorm with Tak?"

"I do not. And do you think that whole 'secret Heads' dorm' myth is true?" Lily asked. Everyone had heard about the rumoured private dorms, but no Head Boy or Girl had ever outright spoken about them.

"If it isn't, try and tell me where you think Natasha slept all of last year." Natasha was a Gryffindor who had been Head Girl the previous year.

"That is a good point." Annalise nodded in agreement.

Lily considered this, and realized that her friends were probably right. She couldn't imagine how fantastic it would be to go through the school year without having to share her sleeping space. Not that she didn't like spending time with her friends, but having seven teenage girls together all the times just grew to be too much.

They continued to talk non stop - sharing stories with each other about summer experiences and Alice told them about how she and Frank Longbottom had started seeing each other, much to everyone's delight (Lily had assured herself for years that they were meant to be). The constant stream of conversation was only halted by the arrival of a lady pushing the food trolley. Lily collected the orders and money of her friends, and she stepped outside the compartment to get everyone's food.

"Two Liquorice Lollies, three Cauldron Cakes, and, uh, five Sugartarts, please." Lily asked the lady, who nodded and bent down to retrieve the snacks.

"Lily?" Lily heard her name called from behind her. She turned around, to find a familiar, tired face.

"Remus!" She said happily, hugging her friend.

"Congratulations." He said, smiling and nodding to her pin.

"Thank you. Did you…?"

"No. Not me." He shook his was genuinely surprised, and saddened by this news.

"Why not? You're such an obvious choice!" She exclaimed.

"You know why not." He said.

"Dumbledore wouldn't take this opportunity away from you because of that! You know how to handle, and it's not like you'd have to sneak around me."

Remus just shook his head again, and Lily put a hand on his shoulder."Well, I think you deserve it." She said."Thanks, Lily."

"You wouldn't happen to know who _did_ get Head Boy, would you?" She asked hopefully.

"Uh, no. Sorry. I-er-I really have to go. It was nice to see you." Remus turned around on the spot, and made his way down the hallway, gently pushing past the line that was forming behind the cart. Lily noticed the tall boy standing behind her, with light brown skin and short, dark hair. Takyl Pennsworth. She smiled at him tentatively, and he nodded awkwardly. She turned back to face the trolley lady, silently cursing herself, but convinced herself that it was her over-romantic mind at play, and she needed to be cool and not care. She had turned back just as the vendor had resurfaced from trying to find the Sugartarts, and Lily exchanged the money for the goods with a quick thank you, before darting back into her compartment.

"You _so _totally like him." Mary said, gratefully accepting and biting into her Cauldron Cake.

"He's just a _friend_. Not that he isn't really sweet, but I can't see myself liking him." Lily said.

"I think Mary meant Tak, not Remus." Annalise said, laughing, and Lily glared at Mary.

"I definitely don't like Tak. Even if I did, I'm almost positive he doesn't like me." She said.

"That can't be true. Who doesn't like Lily Evans?" Alice said.

"James Potter." Suggested Mary, and Lily rolled her eyes at the mention of his name.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Alice shrugged.

"What do you mean by that?" Lily asked.

"Everyone knows he fancies you. Everyone's always known." Annalise answered for her.

"No, he hates me. Much in the same way that I hate him. Everyone's always known _that_." Lily said assuredly.

"How many times did he ask you out?" Alice asked.

"That was only to bug me." Lily said.

"He seemed really… Different last year." Annalise pointed out.

"That is true. I don't think you guys even argued in public." Mary pondered aloud.

"He stayed out of my way, and I stayed out of his. You can't fight with someone you're not interacting with." Lily said.

"No, I think it was more than that. I saw him help a first year one time." Alice said.

"I think I even saw him teaching a few third years some spells they were struggling with." Annalise said.

"Enough. I don't want to think about him anymore. Someone can't just go from being a bully and a tyrant to a good samaritan in a year. Did you see how many detentions he still got? And he _definitely_ can't stand me. And I also definitely don't have a thing for Tak." Lily said, rambling.

"Okay gang, I don't think our Lily's ready to see the truth." Mary said satirically, and Lily took her face from her hands to stick out her tongue at her friend. Despite their interrogations and inaccurate observations, Lily couldn't help but smile. She was going back to Hogwarts.

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A/N: Better? Better. Please review if you liked it. Or if you didn't. Let me know. Feedback is priceless.

~magicdawn


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hello my lovelies (euh, borderline creepy)

Yes! Last chapter re-write, and then finally we can get back into new stuff! Yay!

Disclaimer: You know who all Harry Potter characters belong to? J.K. freaking Rowling, that's who. ©theQueen

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_Welcome Back_

The train arrived safely at Hogsmeade, where the passengers disembarked, climbing into the carriages. Lily hated the carriages. The first time she had seen them, in her second year, she had been in awe with how they seemed to pull themselves to the castle. But when she came back after that terrible Christmas, she saw them for what they really were - black, skeletal creatures that seemed the stuff of nightmares. She had cried the entire way back to the castle, her friends confused as they couldn't see what she did. Once back in the castle, Professor Minerva McGonagall had pulled her aside to explain that they were Thestrals, and why Lily could see them. Ever since then, all the thestrals did was remind her of her mother, and she hated how the sight of them made her heart wrench.

The carriage ride couldn't have been over soon enough, and the sea of students made their way in through the castle's front doors, to the Great Hall, where they divided by house at long rectangular tables that ran the length of the room. Lily sat with her friends, greeting all her other peers that she hadn't seen yet that day. Jessica Cahn, Alanca Moon, and Caia Smint, the other year 7 Gryffindor girls, joined her, Mary, Alice and Annalise.

Jess had brown hair that she seemed to perpetually wear in a braid, with brown eyes that complemented her tanned skin. Alanca had black hair and a dark complexion, and was the polar opposite of Caia, with her pale hair and skin.

The cycle of summer-themed conversation repeated itself, and the first years' ceremony went off without a hitch. Lily cheered loudly with the rest of the Gryffindor table when a new kid got sorted into their house, finally feeling like she was back in her element.

After the last first year was sorted (a small Slytherin with glittering eyes and a sharp smile) Dumbledore rose to make his opening speech. Instead of looking chipper and enthusiastic as he usually did, he looked instead worn and weary.

"This year, we have to remain united as a school. As you may notice, some of your peers are not here." Lily looked around, and did indeed see that some of her housemates were not around. "This is because some families are scared of the danger brewing outside these walls. We've all heard of it, in the news, but I want you all to know that you are _safe _here. Hogwarts is a safe place, and although the attacks and acts of violence seem to be escalating, you have no need to be worried as long as you're here, together. Now-"

The Headmaster's speech was cut short by a piercing scream that filled the air.

Panic rose in Lily's chest, and she looked around, confused, trying to find what was going on. Everyone around her was just as confused, until someone shouted '_Look up!"_ Lily looked up with the rest of the crowd, and what she saw made her heart jump into her throat, blocking any scream that would've escaped.

Floating in front of the enchanted ceiling, a line of giant burning letters spelled out '_ALL THOSE OF DIRTY BLOOD WILL PERSIH. THE DARK LORD WILL REIGN'. _The words of fire flamed menacingly over everyone's head, and Lily clasped her hand over her mouth, terrified.

"Return to your dorms, please!" Dumbledores magically amplified voice carried over the frantic crowd. "Prefects, lead your houses back to your common rooms. Head Boy and Girl, please come to my office." Dumbledore exited the Great Hall so quickly Lily could've sworn he had vanished. Why would he leave like that?

Prefects called students to order, and it finally registered in Lily's mind that _she _was Head Girl, and needed to get to the Headmaster's office. She pushed through the crowd in a manner that made her feel as though she were swimming against the current - if it was a current in a sea of panicking, crying, babbling teenagers. She broke through eventually, and stumbled into a quiet hallway that didn't lead to any of the houses. She navigated her way through the castle's maze-like corridors, until she reached the gargoyle statues that guarded the Headmaster's office. Once there, she fell to her knees, sitting on the floor against a wall, taking a moment to gather herself.

Her heart and mind were racing. She was breathless from her struggle, and thoroughly terrified by the display of hatred in the Great Hall. Those burning words were directed at her and anyone like her. The air seemed to escape her, and she rested her head on her knees. Someone inside Hogwarts was a Death Eater. Her haven had been breached, and it was _one of her peers _that wanted her and all the other muggleborns dead.

She told herself mentally that she needed to compose herself and go inside to see Dumbledore. She had to stand up, take a few deep breaths, and clear the tears from her eyes. She was just about to will herself to do just that, when she heard her name.

"Evans?"

She looked up, and a tall boy with hair black as the night was standing a few feet away from her. She jumped up, quickly wiping her face, and if she hadn't been so shaken up, she would've been thoroughly embarrassed.

"What are you doing here?" She asked, taking those deep breaths she had self-prescribed.

He didn't respond, just looked to Dumbledore's door, then back at her.

"Wait. You don't mean that you're-"

"Don't act so surprised, Evans." He said, nodding.

"_You're _Head Boy?" She asked, shocked.

"Ouch." He put his hand over his heart in a show of fake pain.

"I mean, like, okay. You can see why it's a little surprising." She pointed out. The shock of the news had lifted off all the pressure in her chest, like it had knocked the air _back _into her.

"You mean you weren't expecting me to be rewarded a position for 'academic achievement and remarkable responsibility'?" He said sarcastically, putting air quotes around the phrase McGonagall always used when she would talk to the sixth years about the position.

"No, no I thought the, what, _100_ detentions you've accumulated over the years would have deterred them." Lily responded, crossing her arms.

"You've kept count?" He grinned, and she shook her head.

"If not the detentions, you'd've thought that years of you terrorizing the students of this school would've had them thinking twice before picking you."

James' smile faltered, but didn't fall.

"That's not me, not anymore." He said.

"I don't believe it." Lily replied.

"You didn't hear the news? As of last year, I've found the moral high ground. The path of the righteous." James found his smirk thought to what her friends had said on the train. _They_ hadthought he had changed, but Lily hadn't noticed anything. She had barely interacted with him last year, but she had assumed she had just gotten better at avoiding him.

When she didn't respond, James shrugged.

"I guess even if you didn't notice, Dumbledore must have. Speaking of which, haven't we a meeting to attend?" He pointed to the gargoyles.

"Yeah. I was just…" Lily trailed off, figuring that he had determined why she had been on the floor by now.

"Yeah. It's okay. I get it." Sure enough.

"Do you… uh… know how to get inside?" She asked.

"Maybe knocking?"James said.

"Oh. Right." She felt stupid. She hated that he could make her feel stupid.

"Do the honours, Miss Head Girl." He said, letting her step forward. She knocked on the head of the centre gargoyle, hoping the sound would resonate all the way up to Dumbledore.

Nothing happened at first, and Lily was just about to turn around to make a comment about how she wasn't an idiot for not thinking to knock, when the gargoyles creaked, turning to reveal a spiralling marble staircase. Lily put her foot on the first step tentatively, and then without looking back, she made her way up.

The stairs led them to a great oak door, which opened before Lily could knock on it. They stepped in, to find and eccentrically decorated office, and Dumbledore facing the portraits that hung over his desk, with his back to them.

"Take a seat, please." He said without turning, and two mismatched chairs zoomed from an unknown location, knocking into the back of their knees so that they fell and sat in them. Lily looked surprisingly at James, who was nodding approvingly. "I trust you know why I called you here." Dumbledore said, facing them and taking a seat behind his cluttered desk. Without giving them a chance to answer, he continued.

"As Head Boy and Girl, you are the leaders of the school. With such a… startling attack, this school will be scared. They'll be scared, and they'll need two strong examples to follow, to pull them through what are surely dark times.

"You can do this by keeping a positive attitude, and by helping me and the teachers in pursuing whoever is responsible for this hostile propaganda. I understand that this means you'll have more duties to fulfil than the norm, but I think that by working together, you can be successful." Here, Dumbledore smiled, his ice-blue eyes twinkling behind his trademark half-moon spectacles.

The responsibility that Lily would have to don this year was daunting, and she couldn't imagine doing it all with _James Potter_.

Dumbledore continued to explain what their normal Head duties would entail, and also where they would find those mythical Head dorms.

"There's a tapestry on the fourth floor. It depicts the Battle of the Dark Valley, and features the triumphant Miggins the Mighty. Tap his head, and repeat the passcode _Shortcake Scales. _This, of course, you can change later. Your belongings are already in your rooms. I must ask that you don't bring other students back to the dorms, and once every month we will meet in your private common room to discuss how everything's going and what you need to accomplishment for the next month."

He dismissed them, when the portrait of Headmaster Chancy Howll came running back into his frame, apparently with some very pertinent news.

James and Lily descended the stairs quietly, the gargoyles sealing off the path again once they were clear.

"So… This'll be a hoot." James said, hiding the fact that he was just realizing the magnitude of this job.

"We have to organize all of the Prefect meetings. We have to decide who patrols where and when. We have to manage sign out registers for school amenities. And we have to do it all while looking like we aren't fazed by a threatening message that literally burned over our Heads." Lily said, rambling, and James noticed her eyes looked a little frantic. Damn, those emerald eyes. Not that he noticed them, because he most _definitely _absolutely was over her.

"Hey, are you okay?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No, Potter, I'm very not okay, okay? That death threat in the Great Hall? That was aimed at people like _me. _Someone in _Hogwarts _wants me dead, and now I have to go about a new, busy life pretending like I'm _perfectly _fine and help Dumbledore catch whoever it is _along _with the already long to-do list that comes with this position. Not to mention, I have to do it all with a slacking prankster who thinks that he's God's gift to the world and that a year of _not hexing innocent people _after a little self-reflection makes up for the years of bullying he inflicted on the rest of the school!" Lily seemed to explode, her face almost as red as her hair, gesticulating wildly, pointing at James as she spoke.

This time, his face did fall. He seemed wounded, and it was the first time Lily had ever seen him actually look… vulnerable.

"I didn't say that I've made up for everything I've done." He said quietly, before turning and walking off.

She couldn't believe that she actually felt _bad._

She had been yelling at James Potter her whole life.

But she had never felt bad about it.

She had stood still, borderline stunned by their interaction, after he had walked off. It was as though up until that moment, she hadn't thought of James Potter as human. Of course, she knew he was human, but his name, reputation, and predictably bad actions seemed to a formed their own entity. After so many years of just yelling at him, it was only when he actually seemed affected by what she said that she realized that James Potter was just a normal, teenage wizard.

Later, she would reflect that it was because she yelled at him that first night that her mind would open to being convinced that maybe he had changed.

James Potter ran up the stairs to the seventh year Boy's dorms in the Gryffindor Tower, slamming the door behind him.

"Throw me a cig, won't you." He said, propping open a window and sitting on the bench below it.

"Excuse me? Do you think _smoking _is appropriate Head Boy behaviour? What kind of example are you setting for the children?" Sirius Black said, in a dramatic show of surprise, standing up from where he had been lounging casually on his bed. Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew were on their own beds respectively, one reading and the other chewing some sort of bubblegum that blew bubbles in various forms. The pink bubble Peter was blowing, shaped remarkably like a giraffe, popped in his face, the sticky substance glueing to him as he tried to peel it off.

"Why aren't you smoking in your illustrious new dorm, Prongs?" Remus asked, as Sirius drew one cigarette for James, and another for himself, which he rested behind his ear.

James didn't answer, instead focusing on lighting the dart with the tip of his wand. He succeeded, and took a long drag, blowing the smoke out the window so that it curled into the dimming sky over the rolling hills of Scotland.

"Is it Red?" Sirius asked.

"She wouldn't like you calling her that." James said, not looking at his friends, but keeping his eyes trained on the horizon.

"Why do you care? I thought you were over her?" Sirius prodded.

"I don't. And I am."

"So you'd be okay if I took a crack at her?" Sirius said, testing the waters.

"Like I said. I don't care." James' voice was sharp like ice.

"Then why has she got you smoking. I haven't seen you smoke since, well…" Sirius trailed off, not wanting to bring up Mr Potter.

"She yelled at me." James said.

"Uh, Prongs mate, she's always yelled at you." Remus said without looking up from his book.

"This was different. I don't know why. It's just like her words hit me harder than they used to. Or I forgot to hide it or something." James shook his head, taking another long pull from the cigarette, flicking the ashes so they fell gently down the hundreds of feet to the landscape below.

"Moony, I think our little James is all grown up." Sirius mimed tearing up, and Remus laughed, so that James glared at the both of them, dropping the unfinished cigarette out the window.

"I should probably go find my illustrious dorm." He said, standing up, realizing that Sirius' words were actually kind of true.

"That was crazy in the Hall, wasn't it?" Sirius said, shaking his head.

"Send Lily my regards." Remus said.

"Will do. If she, you know, talks to me." James half raised a hand in farewell, and left, letting the door fall closed behind him.

"I'm hurt. He only comes to see us anymore if he wants something from me." Sirius continued in the same dramatically motherly tone, and Remus just rolled his eyes.

James walked around the fourth floor, wandering until he found what he assumed was Miggins the Mighty on a tapestry. He touched his wand to it, and muttered the embarrassing passcode. The tapestry rolled from the bottom up in a quick 'whoosh', revealing behind it a dark wood door with the words _Head Dorms _inscribed in a golden plaque. He turned the doorknob, and went inside. It opened into the common room Dumbledore had been talking about. It had very much the same feel to it as the Gryffindor Tower. Replicas of the plush maroon armchairs, the dark red couch, and the ornate fireplace adorned the circular room in a classy manner. There were two large desks that faced each other, over which hung a banner of red and gold.

"You came back." Lily interrupted his examination of the room, coming out of a door to the left with a plaque that read _Lily Evans_. On the right was an identical door, with his name.

James shrugged.

"I wanted to see the room."

"I'm sorry I yelled. Earlier. It's just…" She couldn't believe that first she had felt bad for yelling at James Potter, and now she was _apologizing_ to him?

"Been a rough day?" He asked, and she nodded. She looked tired, bleary eyes resting on dark circles.

"You don't need to apologize. It's okay. I deserve everything you said." He waved his hand.

"I was thinking, maybe this year…" She stopped for a second, considering what she was about to say. It was a giant leap, and she didn't even know if she could trust him to have changed, but she figured that if they were going to get anything done this year at all, it would be necessary. "A clean slate."

"Like, a fresh start?" James asked, taken aback.

"Yeah. What do you say, Potter? Are we enemies, or can we start over as timid acquaintances?" Lily held out her hand, which James eyed for a moment, before deciding and smirking.

"I say let's do it. Nice to meet you, Evans." He shook her hand, and he couldn't help but notice how much smaller it was than his.

As they shook hands, Lily could've sworn that she caught a whiff of cigarette smoke, but convinced herself that she must have been imagining it.

"Oh, and Remus sends his regards." James said, when their hands pulled apart.

Both went to bed that night with full minds, thinking about how surprised they were with the other's actions, and especially their own.

* * *

A/N: Hope this was better! Lemme know with a lil reviewin' ;)

k I'm done with the creepy now

thank you!

~magicdawn


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey! Look! New Chapter! Yay!

Disclaimer: All _Harry Potter _related thingys belong completely to J.K. Rowling.

* * *

_Perceptive_

The first week was strange, and it was strange in many ways.

The most obvious was that Lily was living apart from the girls she had bonded with for the past six years of her life, much in the way that James was now apart from the previously-presumed inseparable Marauders. Of course, they still spent classes, meals and after-class lounge/study time together, but when they would all say goodnight and head for the stairs that would bring them higher into the Gryffindor Tower, Lily and James would leave the tower, headed for Miggins.

The second-most strange was, in Lily's opinion, working with James Potter. More specifically, that she was _able _to work with James Potter and that sometimes, it could be almost fun. They had organized their first Heads/Prefect meeting on Wednesday, the 3rd of September, and it had been what Lily could comfortingly (although surprisingly) describe as a success. She would make most of the announcements and lead most of the discussion, but James would interject with casual sarcasm or something witty, and it seemed to keep the Prefects interested and listening. Lily had to admit, when it wasn't at someone else's expense, James was actually pretty funny, and he was clever. The Prefects payed attention, unlike last year, when Heads Natasha and Anthony struggled to keep everyone's attention for the full hour. She found herself… thankful for him being there with her, and she had surprised herself when she first thought it. Of course, she hadn't _told _him, but that was fine.

* * *

They were walking back from their second meeting (there was one every week) going from the empty classroom they used as an office/meeting room, back to their dorms.

"I was thinking that we should schedule Remus with that cute Ravenclaw for rounds. He totally deserves someone sweet like her." Lily said to James, who laughed.

"You know, I don't think Moony would appreciate that very much. You know what he's like."

"Yes. He's one of the nicest people I know and I think he gets on very well with Clara." Lily said, standing her ground.

"Yeah, sure. You try setting him up. First he'd see right through us, and then he'd chop my head off. He doesn't think that he'll ever be with anyone, because of his furry little problem." James said.

"That's awful." Lily said.

James nodded, and they fell into silence.

"Potter, can I ask you something?" Lily asked.

"Shoot." He shrugged

"What's with the nicknames? I mean I get Moony, but why Prongs? Or whatever you call Sirius and Peter?"

"They're just stupid names we took from a book, when we were younger." James answered without hesitation.

"Which book?" Lily asked. He could feel her eyes studying his face, and he felt transparent, like she could see right through him.

"_The Four Horses and the Knights of Chilt_." He answered. "It's a kids book." He kept his eyes looking forward, but could still feel those emeralds scanning him, like she was reading his mind.

"Lily! James!" The two Heads spun around to find Mary running after them.

"I was there - I - Dumbledore told me to find you - you have to come-" Her words came out a disjointed mess, as she skidded to where they had stopped.

"Mary! What happened? What are you talking about?" Lily asked her frantic friend, holding onto her arm and she gathered her breath.

"A student - a student was found tied up - another message. Right near the Transfiguration classroom! Go quick!" Marlene said, waving Lily's hands away.

"Are you sure you're okay MacDonald?" James asked, exchanging a confused glance.

"I'm fine. Just go." She ushered them away, leaning against the wall, and James and Lily shared a look before running off themselves.

The students they passed seemed to be either confused or annoyed by the sprinting duo, and they told all who could hear to please return to the common rooms for now, until the situation is cleared up.

Lily and James rounded the final corner, where they found teacher telling students to leave, blocking the view of the nodded to James and Lily, letting them through.

Jena Lorrinsfield, the school Healer, was crouching next to a small shaking girl, that Lily recognized as the Slytherin first year who had been the last to be sorted. Mlle Lorrinsfield was quietly reciting some incantations, with her wand pointed to the deep lacerations on the eleven year old's wrist. On the floor next to the girl was a pile of bloodied rope, and words of fire burning just like the message in the Great Hall on their first night back. This time it read '_MUDBLOOD SCUM WILL GET WHAT'S COMING - AND NEXT TIME, YOU WON'T FIND THEM ALIVE_'.

Lily put a hand over her mouth, taking a step back but catching herself on her heel, so she stumbled. James caught her elbow, keeping her from falling, but she was too frozen and entranced by the flames to thank him."Miss Evans, Mr Potter." Dumbledore approached him, his eyes seeming even more wary compared to that last they had seen him.

"Headmaster." James nodded in greeting, and Lily shook herself out of her shock.

"Miss Delaney here was attacked with the _incarcerous _spell around her hands and her legs, after being stunned by an unknown attacker. I of course summoned you here because our… situation, here at Hogwarts seems to be escalating, and very quickly. I need both of you to be on the lookout for any suspicious behaviour at all. Tell your Prefects to have zero tolerance, and that they should report directly to you with anything at all. We need to catch whoever is doing this, and the two of you have to act as we discussed."

"Yes, Professor." Lily said, her eyes still wide and her mouth set into a thin line. James nodded as well, and Dumbledore looked over them once more, before turning on his heels and leaving.

"Why does he always leave?" James muttered to himself, but Lily didn't hear. She was more focused on the young girl, Delaney, who Mlle Lorrinsfield had finished healing.

"Can I talk to her?" Lily asked the Healer.

"I don't think that'd be best right now. She needs to come with me back to the infirmary, and rest up so she can finish healing." The doctor replied, and Lily nodded, standing up. "I think you should go get some rest too. You look shaken up." The Healer added.

"I think she's right, Evans." James said, and Lily nodded again, backing away, until she turned and speed walked away from the crowd. Once out of direct sight of the teachers, she picked up speed, until she was flat out running back to her room. She tapped her wand to the wall hanging, and rushed inside, slamming the door shut again. She ran into her room, and crawled onto her bed, laying at a random angle, her hands covering her face.

She needed to stop doing this. She had to be strong, like Dumbledore said. She couldn't keep feeling like she was going to faint every time someone threatened Hogwarts' muggleborns. What kind of leader was she, if she kept running away like this?

"Evans?"

Lily uncovered her eyes, and realized with horror that she had left her room door wide open. James was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame casually. Damn him. How did he _always _seem to be so casual?

Lily sat up, swinging herself off of her bed, and crossing the room to come face to face with her roommate.

"Are you okay?" He asked her, and for some reason, all of the anger and disappointment in herself and the fear of the attack seemed to boil up inside of her, and explode.

"Why do you even _care_? Why are you being so, so _civil _with me? How is it _possible _that you've changed so much, and so suddenly, to the point where we can have _normal human conversations _that don't end in the Hospital Wing? What happened to you, for Merlin's sake?" She yelled at him, and he took a step back, his half smirk falling and his eyes heating up with an intensity that Lily never knew possible.

"What _happened _to me? You know what happened. I realized who I was, and that I didn't like it!" He said, this time matching her tone. "I'm sorry for trying to be a _decent _person, but obviously something happened to _you _that made you so untrusting of everyone else!"

"Something happened to _me_? I'm sorry, _Potter_-" His name came out in a venomous hiss, "- forgive me for not trusting that you, _YOU OF ALL PEOPLE _had a _complete _change of character. I'm sorry if _that _gives me _trust issues_!"

"I'm not talking with just me! Your reclusive! You don't let anybody in - not even your friends! I've seen you with them - it's like you only let people see your top layer, like your heart and soul is in some safe that only _you _have the key to." James took another step back - he hadn't meant to say all that. Those were things he had noticed, for sure, but saying them to _her_? What was he thinking?

Lily stared at him, her mouth hanging open. She forced herself to close it, and glared piercingly at him.

"Well me and my _soulless self _are going to bed." She turned and slammed her door in his face. She rested her back against it, breathing heavily, shaking. He was so, so, _perceptive_.

And, she thought, kind of right.

Not that she could let him know that, but Jesus, she hadn't been expecting that.

Any of that. She slid to the floor.

Her heart was locked away?

What did he know about her?

Nothing. He knew nothing.

Why was that fight so… electrifying? Why were emotions running so high?

Sure, they had fought, but never like _that_.

It had gotten really real.

Lily went to bed that night confused and still shaking, partly from the fight, partly from the fright, and partly from the sharp cold that had seemed to descend upon her in the dark.

* * *

A/N: oooh drAMA

hope you likey, and if you did, drop me a note saying so. Drop me one if you didn't. asdfghjkl;'jfabnwifuh;ow

:D

~magicdawn


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for the reviews/faves/follows, it's great to have that feedback! Like I promised, some good ol' Lily/Sirius dialogue up in this chapter 'ere. Do enjoy.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter an' all its parts yonder belong to the head cowgal J.K. Rowling

* * *

_Go Figure_

Two days later, Lily Evans and the rest of the seventh year Gryffindors attended their second Transfiguration course of the year - a double period right before lunch. Lily was dreading it, and for more than one reason. The first - it was yet another class she had to take with James Potter. She had been successfully avoiding him since their yelling match Wednesday night, and she wasn't ready to see that smug face of his. The second - the previous class had been mostly McGonagall talking for the two hours about their futures and how vital Transfiguration is to them and how their NEWT results would predispose every magical employer to choose the applicant with the most well rounded knowledge of magical fields blah blah blah. Usually Lily loved Professor McGonagall and her classes, but that one had been a solid, thorough bore.

She sighed walking into the room with the rest of her peers, going directly to her seat at the front without looking around her. She sat down, keeping her eyes straight ahead, knowing that James was just across the row from her.

"Lily, are you okay?" A concerned sounding Alice asked, as she sat next to her friend. Lily, thankful that she had somewhere safe to look, forced up a smile.

"I'm okay Alice. Thank you."

"If you're sure… Mary and Annalise and me were kind of worried. You ran right to your room after supper, and you barely looked up during the meal."

"I'm fine. Really."

"We heard about the attack. Well, everyone has, the was gossip spreads round this school. That would have been really terrible to see." Alice pushed a little harder.

"Alice, sweetie, it's really nice how concerned you are, but I promise I'm fine." Lily said, and Alice didn't look convinced. She conceded, however, and squeezed Lily's hand.

"Where are Annalise and Mary?" Lily asked, and Alice looked at her worriedly.

"They're just across the room. Right there." Alice pointed to Mary and Annalise, and Annalise waved at them. Lily didn't turn to look, instead nodding.

"Okay. Thanks."

"Why don't you just-"

"Welcome, class, to your second day of Year 7 Transfiguration." McGonagall interrupted Alice, who fell silent immediately to pay attention. The Professor stood at the front of the room, her hands clasped in front of her and her lips pressed into a thin thin line. She looked stricter than usual, her eyes sharp and unforgiving.

"Today I will split you off into partners with whom you will work with the rest of the year. As you are in your seventh year and are expected to be very responsible by this point in your life, a lot more of your learning will take place independent from me, with only you, your book and your partner. Of course, you're not _quite _responsible enough to choose your own partners-" the entire class groaned "- but I assure you I will make partnerships designed for the mutual success of the partners.

"Miss Smint you'll be with Mr Lupin. Pettigrew with Longbottom. Hawkstone with Carlston…" As McGonagall listed off the names, Lily crossed her fingers and prayed that she wouldn't be paired with James. When the Professor read out "Potter with Moon", Lily was so happy that she didn't hear with whom she was paired, only tuning in when she heard "- with Evans".

"Now that all the pairs have been made, find your partner and complete the exercise written on the chalkboard." Sounds of movement filled the chamber as partners stood to find each other. Lily grabbed Alice's hand as she stood up.

"Did you hear who I'm with?" Lily asked, and Alice had opened her mouth to answer, when a dreaded voice came from behind.

"Hey Red. Or should I say, _partner_." Sirius Black pulled himself to sit up on Lily's desk, winking at Alice who gave Lily a look of pity before running off to find Mary.

"Black." Lily greeted him, her eyes narrowing.

"Don't look so glum, sugarplum. I'm sure this year'll be a hoot." He leant back casually, and Lily rolled her eyes.

"Do you think McGonagall will let me switch partners if I ask politely?" She asked hopefully.

"Not a chance, and she'd burn your soul just for asking. Remember, partnered for mutual success - we must be the _dream team_." He held out a a fist. "Wonder Twins activate?"

"How do you even know who the Wonder Twins are?" Lily asked, crossing her arms. Not only had she lost any chance of having a good Heads partnership with Potter, now she was going to fail Transfiguration.

"I like muggle pop culture. What can I say, I'm well rounded." He shrugged, and Lily sighed, flopping into her chair and putting her head on her desk.

"Uh, Red, are you okay?" He asked, poking her shoulder.

"Don't call me that." She moaned.

"That's not really an answer to the question I was asking." He replied, not promising anything.

There was no response from Lily.

"Does this have anything to do with that little spat you and James had?"

Lily's head shot up.

"You heard about that?" She asked, then realized that that was a pointless question. Of course he had heard - the Marauders told each other everything.

"Prongs is heartbroken, to say the least." Sirius said, then thinking that maybe he shouldn't have worded it that way.

Lily didn't take the 'heartbroken' literally, however, to Sirius' delight (James would've killed him), but she remained curious about what James had said.

"What did he tell you, exactly?" Lily asked.

"Exactly? Okay, let me see. 'I am a huge idiot and Lily is never going to forgive me because she doesn't think I've changed at all and I can't apologize because a) I can't approach her without her running away and b) she wouldn't believe me anyway' etcetera etcetera. I'm paraphrasing but he ranted for quite a while. I smoked half a pack while waiting for him to finish."

Lily sat back, looking over Sirius. He suddenly understood what James meant, like she had x-ray vision or something.

"He said all that?" She asked.

"More or less." Sirius shrugged.

Lily nodded, looking lost in thought.

"So, I never though _I'd _be the one to suggest this, but maybe we should start the assignment." Sirius said.

"Oh. Uh. Right. Okay. I don't approve of your lifestyle choices, but okay."

What they had to do was transfigure one of the many animals kept in the back of the Transfiguration room into a set of scales, then back. McGonagall had said that she would ease the class back into the hard material, and she wasn't kidding. Lily had been able to do this kind of transfiguration since her third year. After, they would have to write a paper on the technical process, proper wand technique and the possible variables, but they only had to hand in one scroll per partnership.

When they started, neither Lily or Sirius spoke. It wasn't until Sirius asked Lily a question that the dialogue started flowing again.

"So your friend Annalise. Is she french?" Sirius asked.

"No, no she isn't. Besides, Annalise is German in origins." Lily said.

"Ah. Just wondering."

"Why the interest, Black?" She asked.

"No interest, _Red_," emphasizing his use of the name.

"Does Sirius Black have _a crush_?" Lily gasped exaggeratively.

"No I don't. Hush and transfigure." He said. For some strange reason, he couldn't bring himself to tell Lily Evans to shut up. It seemed… against nature.

"I can't believe this. I didn't think that Sirius Black ever had _crushes_! I thought you were more of a sleep-with-her-and-leave-before-she-wakes kind of guy." Lily said.

"I am. I mean, usually."

"But Annalise is different."

He stared at the frog they were supposed to transfigure, avoiding Lily's eye.

He was the third Marauder since the first of September to surprise her.

"I won't tell her, you know. If you don't want me to." She said, and he looked up, startled.

He searched her face, and found nothing but sincerity.

"Thanks." He said, and it answered all her questions.

* * *

Lily left Transfiguration with a lot on her mind - most of it concerning Sirius.

She realized how often she had thought similar thoughts since the year began, but she couldn't believe how she had just had a normal conversation with someone who last year she would've described as the most arrogant non-caring and narcissistic person she knew (behind James Potter, of course). Two people she had seen as two dimensional had turned out to be as complex as every normal person Lily knew.

Lily had almost reached the Great Hall, when again, she heard a voice call her name. She turned, expecting it to be one of her friends, or maybe Sirius with one last remark, but instead she found a tall handsome boy in bronze and blue.

"Takyl." She heard herself say in surprise.

"Lily. Hi." He spoke awkwardly, his hands fidgeting. She could already feel her face reddening, and for what was probably the millionth time, she cursed how easily she blushed.

"I was, I was wondering if you'd like to go to Hogsmeade? With me?" He asked, his deep voice stuttering a little.

Lily was confused for a moment, before remembering that they had added an extra Hogsmeade day, in two weeks, before Hallowe'en in hopes of lifting everyone's spirits. They still hadn't a lead on either of the messages left, and the school's happy atmosphere had seemed to plummet to depressing depths.

"Of course. Yes. I'd love to." She answered, her own tone matching his awkward one, her face only heating up more.

"Okay. Good. Well, I'll see you then." He said, before walking off, leaving a very confused and happy Lily behind.

* * *

She was still smiling when she sat down at the Gryffindor table, trying to retain giggles that were bubbling in her stomach.

"Who is it?" Mary asked, when Lily sat down next to her.

"Who's who?" Lily asked, trying to calm her insides.

"The boy who's got you all laughy. This is giggly-I-like-a-boy-and-he-likes-me Lily." Mary waved a hand, indicating the whole of her friend.

Lily shook her head, before caving.

"Takyl asked me to Hogsmeade." She whispered.

Mary dropped her fork, and it clattered on the table, the noise resonating through the Hall.

"WE TOLD YOU!" She exclaimed.

"What? What's going on?" Annalise and Alice tuned in.

"Lilys-" Lily hushed Mary, who had started the sentence extremely loud.

"_Lily_- she started again, this time whispering, "_is going to Hogsmeade with Takyl."_

_"_Lily! Oh my merlin!" Alice clapped happily.

"This is awesome! We totally _did _tell you." Annalise agreed, and Mary nodded, proud.

That night, Lily stayed in the Gryffindor girls' dorms talking late into the night. She was going to sneak carefully back to her dorm, before realizing that as Head Girl she didn't really need to sneak after curfew.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review and tell me watchu thought :)

~magicdawn


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